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>>27255882

(Gentlemen: I apologize for the long delay. I've been dealing with an assignment this week, which has taken up a substantial amount of my attention. However, it's thankfully concluded - And I have some breathing space at last.)

HOLLOW SUN: 6.7%

IN PROGRESS -

[X] HELLION UPGRADE: PHASE RESONATOR

(Hellions have a longer operation time.)

[X] RESEARCH: SERAPHIM COMMAND MODULE

(Unlocks Virtue-class Command Units.)

>>27255914
You know, I always did picture those things when hellions were mentioned.
Also, I finally get to participate in one of these threads, neat.

God damnit. Tonight? Really? I haft to be up in four hours. Bailing here soonish.

Also, poor Spaghetti-san. We'll get your blade someday!

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Dreams, for the first time in a while. Not good dreams: Wandering across the black sands, the gritty winds moaning like the voices of the damned as they scour and scrape against the grey ceramite of your limbs. Somewhere, a girl's voice echoes - Singing a lullaby, trying not to cry. Hearing her aches.

Above, a pinpoint of light...

Light. Not blurred, this time - A white concave ceiling, way up in the distance. Stained-glass windows, casting their kaledioscope scatter across the pews; Hard wood beneath your back, smooth and varnished.

You can taste something raw and fresh and bloody in your mouth - You think you may have bitten your tongue.

On your forehead, something cold - A slow bead running down the side of your face, your skin cold, clammy. From close by, a gasp.

Your blurred vision resolves, into a face. Russet hair, soft blue eyes large with concern...

"-He's awake," Megumi says. Her voice sounds strangely muffled, somehow - But you can feel the slight pressure of her hand on your brow, her fingers stroking lightly, tentatively through the damp cloth. There's a note of worry, of tension, in her words-

She leans towards you. "Anon-kun, how do you feel?" A pause - "...Do you know where you are?"

[ ] "What happened?"
[ ] "-I'm not sure."
[ ] "This is...The Chapel, right?"
[ ] "...Why are you here?"
[ ] "How did I get here?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27256133

Wow, I was wondering if she'd ever turn up again. When was the last time we saw her? Ten, twenty chapters ago?

>>27256171

A friggin' long time. Anyway, it's time to take stock. Sit up slowly, if we can sit up, look around to check where we are. Is the creepy priest guy around?

> [X] "What happened?"
> [X] "...Why are you here?"

>>27256133

"We're in America, right? We eloped together after our parents told us we could never be together."

A beat.

"I'm fine. I think. I must still be under the weather or something. These colds are killer. How've you been holding up after our last rendezvous? You taking good care of Fluffy, Megumi?"

Hello OP, Anonymous, good to see you all tonight. Episode guide is posted: http://pastebin.com/DNGtTt04 Not *done* yet in that there's still the 50s to finish up, but it will remain under that paste ID.

>>27256133
"I... I *don't* know where this is, exactly. I'm okay though, except I could really use a drink."

>>27255882
I suppose I'll do this now since I need to sleep soon: I've been racking a ton of upgrade ideas around in my head, and I do mean "A TON". In the interest of saving time, I'll limit my self to one or two detailed suggestions per thread provided I'm around when the thread starts.

The first subject i'd like to bring up is our interceptors.

>>27256212

> "We're in America, right? We eloped together after our parents told us we could never be together."

She smiles, just a little - But there's a odd reserve, almost a wariness, as she draws back. "...You *are* all right," Megumi says, with feeling - The relief evident in her voice. For a long moment, she busies herself with folding away the damp cloth, avoiding your gaze.

> "How've you been holding up after our last rendezvous? You taking good care of Fluffy, Megumi?"

"I've been..." That hesitation again. "-I've been well." A familiar note of mischief enters her voice, just for a moment: "But...You're looking a little under the weather, Anon-kun."

> [X] "...Why are you here?"

"-I live here," Megumi says, sounding faintly surprised - "This place...It's my home."

> "I... I *don't* know where this is, exactly. I'm okay though, except I could really use a drink."

"There's water." As you sit up - A complicated process, given how stiff and sore your limbs feel - there's a *clink*, as Megumi offers you a plastic bottle; It's lukewarm, but soothing to your parched throat - The liquid sloshing uneasily in your stomach. "Don't drink it too fast - You'll make yourself sick."

> [X] "What happened?"

"Ummmm..." Megumi seems to be gathering her thoughts, her hands folded in her lap. "...I'm not sure, myself. Father Yasuda said that, that - A guest had collapsed." Her brow furrows, slightly. "...He carried you to the chapel; I wanted to call the ambulance, but - Naoya-kun said we should just let you rest..."

(Continued)

>>27256228

(That looks absolutely fantastic.)

>>27256388

(By all means, fire away.)

Her voice trails off, her shoulders lifting in a slight shrug - "So...I waited for you to wake up." Something of her usual playfulness enters her voice, the wan light catching the russet highlights of her hair - "-I was *really* surprised when I saw you, Anon-kun. You could've called ahead, you know."

[ ] "Wait...'Naoya-kun'? He's here too?"
[ ] "Father Yasuda *carried* me here?"
[ ] "...You're not used to visitors, are you?"
[ ] "-It was meant to be a surprise."
[ ] "Ah. And I thought I'd seen you earlier..."
[ ] "I'll remember to, next time."
[ ] "You seem a little nervous. Is something wrong?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27256133
"Can't say that I'm at the top of my form... though, I've experienced way worse so you could say that I'm pretty good."
"Well, I'm pretty sure I knew where I was before. It'll take me a few extra seconds to figure out where I am now."

>>27256415

"I like surprising people though. Calling ahead would give away the surprise. Collapsing and having a young lady fawn over me to ask if I'm alright? All part of the keikaku."

"So, to change tact, what've you been up to lately? We never did exchange numbers so I could bug you insistently."

>>27256415
(Nice of you to say. Let me know if I've made any mistakes.)
"My phone broke last week; lost just about all the data. Didn't keep the napkin either, else I would have called ahead. And would that be Naoya Shiga? Talk about coincidences, I just met the guy the other day.

After that, "You seem a little nervous. Is something wrong?"

>>27256509
>We never did exchange numbers
We did though.

>>27256415

> [X] "Wait...'Naoya-kun'? He's here too?"

That's the guy we met in the Papillon, wasn't it? What's up with him?

>>27256415
"Well, my coming here was just on spur of the moment. I'm the random anti-hero type of guy. I show up from out of nowhere, do something incomprehensible while getting someone involved, invite trouble, get a few extra scars and then disappear into the sunset." smile "Today, I'm about halfway through this process."
"Anyway, how are you? It"s been ages since our last meeting and... you yourself don't look too good."

>>27256561

We did? I don't remember.. I thought we did not. We have never recieved a call from her which is what had me asking.

>>27256388
Now, I've been reading the pastebin entries for both our interceptors and the lucifer bits as they are the natural progression path for our rifle bits. I noticed something odd while reading, our rifle bits utilize particle emitters while the lucifer bits use a photonic array- the lucifer bits replace the old system, but how? Are the particle emitters merely erased to make way, are they subsumed into the new parts? If they are to be erased then why not remove them and put them to better use in the back of the bits? Our interceptors are already lined with vernier thrusters, if we modify the particle emitters into particle reactors we can give each interceptor it's own personal tempest scrander.

Imagine that; each interceptor as agile, mobile, and manuverable as we are. But why stop there?

>>27256582
I had assumed that the Lucifers, being Hellion tech, were a literal replacement. A complete change of hardware.

>>27256576
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/22985870/#p22987197

We don't get invitations from people we're not close with, like how Rena and Mio started messaging Anon after he'd interacted with them at Papillon.

>>27256582
Problem: the Lucifer Bits are replacements for the Rifle Bits; there is no point in time where they coexist. A Player's gear is more like a schematic anyway: When a Player enters the Red World their Essence generates the armored form and appropriate gear.

We COULD make modifications to the schematic, except the Red Joker armor is a complete black box, and the Interceptor system is integrated into the armor. The Lucifer Bits will go into the slot in said black box marked "Interceptors", and without supreme hacking abilities or system access, Anon isn't getting at it.

>>27256425

(My apologies, I already posted for that one.)

>>27256509

Megumi giggles - Almost in spite of herself, though her eyes sparkle. "-You're *terrible*," she says ~ Rather fondly, a brief flush to her cheeks. "I've been..." Her fingers twist the damp cloth, wringing it out - "...I've been the same as always. There's no reason for anything to be different..."

>>27256574
> "Anyway, how are you? It's been ages since our last meeting and... you yourself don't look too good."

"-It's nothing." Close up, you notice that there's bags under her eyes - Ones that can't be hidden, by her cheery demeanour, a note of strain to her voice. "I just...I've had trouble sleeping, recently - Been busy, with exams and the like..."

Megumi's voice is airy, lilting - She makes a brushing-off gesture, as if to dismiss it.

> "You seem a little nervous. Is something wrong?"

"Um."

For a moment, she's quiet - You get the feeling she's carefully contemplating something...

"...Not really," Megumi says, at last. "-It's just...The next time you come over, call ahead, all right?" She smiles, but there's that edge of worry again.

"Ah, you lost your phone? I'll give you my number again..."

>>27256562
>>27256561

> And would that be Naoya Shiga? Talk about coincidences, I just met the guy the other day.

"Yes, that's..." Megumi starts, some unguarded emotion flitting across her features, so quickly you could almost have imagined it. It's nearly a spasm, her eyes going wide in surprise or alarm...Before she bites her lip, looking away.

"-O, oh...So you've already met him."

Her hands rest on her lap, her gaze settling on the ground - There's a tension to her, now, eyes downcast.

"Did he..." she begins, her voice very soft - "...Did he say anything about me?"

[ ] "No."
[ ] "Yes."
[ ] "I can't remember."
[ ] "What do you mean?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27256737
"Not as far as I can remember. I don't even think he knew that we were acquainted.

Why do you ask?"

>>27256582
So the interceptors share our speed, but what of the scrander's main namesake? Where will we derive the tempest? Simple. We gut several arc guns and one or two electromagnetic gladius' per interceptor to emulate the scander's two main attacks- the lightning bolt and the scrander crash. We could also fiddle about with the maser emitters to see if it's possible to make these new interceptor engines leave trails of radiation.

But now it's time for the real meat of my plans.

>>27256737

"Hmm.. call next time you say? I'm not the most perspective person in the world, but that sounds like you're hiding something! What is it? Did you get bad grades on your last exam? Stay up late talking to a crush? C'mon, c'mon! Spill! Who is he? Does he have the same rugged physique and manly air as me?"

>>27256737
"You should probably take a break for a day. Being busy is good and all, but getting too exausted will only throw back your progress a lower the quality of further work. I'd hate to see you collapse from exhaustion."
"Naoya? Nope, don't think so. Something wrong?" Carefully and covertly study her expression.

Hahaha oh wow, whoever said Naoya was like an older Anon hit it on the head. Poor Megumi though.

>>27256737
"...He's the one you were waiting for that day. In all fairness we weren't in a place where we were inclined to talk about our girlfriends, but... no. Not a word."

Check for the Nihl Sphere.

OOC: Ladies and gentlemen, our first Pazuzu candidate. Time to return to the grand old days of wildly speculating about Player identities!

>>27256856

> "You should probably take a break for a day. Being busy is good and all, but getting too exausted will only throw back your progress a lower the quality of further work. I'd hate to see you collapse from exhaustion."

"It's nice of you to say that, but..." Megumi touches a hand to her (rather bountiful) chest. "-I'm tougher than I look, Anon-kun. You don't need to worry about me, you know?"

> Stay up late talking to a crush? C'mon, c'mon! Spill! Who is he? Does he have the same rugged physique and manly air as me?"
> Why do you ask?"

Megumi seems to relax, subtly - As if she's been put at ease.

It doesn't stop her from saying - At last, very, very tentatively:

"It's..." she clears her throat, fidgeting in place; Her expression sheepish, a little embarassed, but somehow proud at once. If anything, the flush in her cheeks deepens.

"-It's Naoya-kun," Megumi says, at last. "He's - He's my boyfriend."

> "...He's the one you were waiting for that day. In all fairness we weren't in a place where we were inclined to talk about our girlfriends, but... no. Not a word."

She nods - Her hands clasped together. "He's really nice, and cool, and, an-" Megumi sneaks you a look, and decides not to go on. Maybe it's something in your expression.

Then, rather more tentatively; "What did you...Well, what did you think of him?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

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>>27256862


Naoya listen to me here....

>>27256920
"He seems like a nice guy.

Though we met in odd circumstances and I don't think I gave him the best impression of me."

>>27256920
"I think he's really nice and cool. Which is a surprise given my first impression of him. It's the weirdest thing though, I can't shake the feeling that we've met."

>>27256968
No Carlos, you're not Pazzy.

>>27256920
"He's a rather nice guy. Smart and capable too. Talking to him almost makes me feel like I've lost at something, hehe."

No. No! NO!

>>27257047
What's your problem?

>>27256792
Ever since I read the word "photonic" in the lucifer bits description, I've been thinking up ways to jack up the power and potential of our interceptors. Surprisingly enough, I've narrowed it down to just three parts we need to take from the armory to make our interceptors insanely powerful.

The focusing prisms from the scatter lazer.

The generator from the photon lance.

The fusion cell from the photon beamer.

The lucifer bits are already deadly in every aspect, but i desire a decidedly more overkill type of deal. Integrating these parts into a system slated to gain more power as it is used just seems right.

What do you guys think? These are simply suggestions, feel free to modify or build upon them as you see fit. I'm just trying to get the playerbase brainstorming in preparation for future events.

>>27257052
Don't have one, meant to quote Carlos. Hate browsing on my phone, hate posting even more.

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>>27256972
>>27256997

"-He is, isn't he?" Megumi says - She looks distinctly relieved, exhaling slowly. "...I didn't think he'd - be interested - in someone like, like..."

So softly you almost miss it: "Like me."

She draws a deep breath - "Anywa-"

"Ah, our Lazarus awakens."

Father Yasuda's voice isn't especially loud, but it carries well in the chapel. He moves with a kind of ponderous dignity - His heavy footfalls mostly muffled by the red carpet, taking him down the aisle one slow step at a time. The priest's worn, lined face is kindly, his spotless white cassock almost luminous in the flickering light.

"...Thank you for taking care of our guest, Megumi," he says, warmly - "The children are at dinner - But I'm afraid Naoya will be taking his leave, soon. I trust you'll want to say goodbye?"

Megumi seems to take that as a cue - She stands, smoothening her skirts down; For a moment, you think she's about to curtesy...But then she bustles past, with a little nod to you - A spring in her step as she hurries off.

There's something indulgent, yet careworn, in his expression as he watches Megumi go - When the doors to the chapel swing shut, he smiles, slightly.

"-To be young again," he says; The altar casting slanting, abstract shadows across the ground. For a moment, he rests his hand on the polished wood of the banister, seemingly gathering his thoughts...

-Before his attention settles on you, at last.

(Continued)

Archive lurker here, just popping in to say this DERLUG may be important, as
- first appears to look like one of the alt form we could have been
- was 'defeated'
- Came back in a form that is not dissimilar to Frost Cestus

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/20143325/#p20145640
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/26403033/#p26407763

Also, were those some Accel World reference characters that got killed back at Nara Dreamland, or is that just my imagination?

>>27257175

"I trust that you're feeling better?" He inquires, crossing over to the pews - With the same slow, deliberate pace. "I apologize for not waking you. I felt-" A pause, a small smile. "-It seemed like you needed the rest."

He doesn't take a seat - Seemingly content to remain standing, gimlet eyes distant...As if contemplating times past.

"So." It's a weighty word, on the heels of a slow exhalation. "Again, I can't thank you enough, young man. But - I must admit: You're something of an enigma."

The priest's voice is mild, but thoughtful - "Still, I won't pry...Especially when it seems like you have questions of your own." Absently, he touches his hand to the charm he wears: Not a cross, but silver starburst.

"...It's the least I could do."

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27257252
"Thank you, and I did appreciate the chance to rest, even if it wasn't exactly planned.

What was she like? I owe her more than I can repay and I still feel like I hardly know the first thing about her."

>>27257252
"Thank you. With luck we'll tell the whole story eventually but for now...

"Mikogami was lucky, I bet. Maybe not in every way, but there were some things that just went his way. Could he really heal people? Was the crucifix involved?

"I'm sorry to ask this, but... how did she die? Was it ten years ago? And her father brought her back six years ago, right?"

> What was she like? I owe her more than I can repay and I still feel like I hardly know the first thing about her."

At your question, Yasuda's eyes close - For a moment, he looks weary. Weary, and old beyond his years. "That is...a complex question," he says, at length. "-In truth, I can't claim to have known her well." He smiles, but it's a bitter one. "Her father was a...great man," he says, very carefully.

"A very great man, indeed. In spite of everything, I still believe that."

His brow furrows, lost in thought. "Kotone was...She was kind, and quiet - There wasn't an ounce of malice in her. Mikogami doted on her - And so did we, of course. We all did."

He sighs. "-Then there was the sickness, of course. She was always ill, always pale. Fading, like a fire guttering out."

The old priest grimaces - "...It's unkind of me, to remember her that way. That's the misery of it, you see: 'In sickness and in health', so the words go - But it soon comes to define you. When faced with that, it is a hard thing, to believe in a merc..."

He stops.

"-Forgive me; I do ramble on."

>>27257393

> "Mikogami was lucky, I bet."

"Of course. He was a fortunate man - But I prefer the term 'inspired'. He was..." Yasuda pauses, and you get the feeling that he's picking his words carefully.

"-There was a force to him," he says, at last. "A boundless force, a *drive*: When he spoke, he was...Well, inspiring." Yasuda seems to consider this - Then nods, in affirmation."

"But not all the time. Not in everything."

He's quiet, and you know he's thinking of Kotone again.

> Could he really heal people?

"Ah." He smiles, slightly. "-The miracles, you mean."

There's a pause, as Father Yasuda works out exactly what to say: "It pains me to say this, but...Now, I'm no longer sure." His gimlet eyes flicker, in silent contemplation. "-He never turned water into wine, if that's what you're asking. He couldn't walk on water, or cure the sick with a wave of his hand."

"-But."

(Continued)

>>27257534

"...But, there was something about him. I've known - I've spoken with - people who were sick, ailing. Dying, even; Raddled with palsy or age or sin...Asking for his blessing."

"They'd leave, and..."

His voice is hushed, now. "...They'd come back healed. Not in the Biblical sense, of course - But the cancer would go into remission. A second opinion, that showed they *would* walk again. The new treatments would work, at last..."

"-Or perhaps, even now, I remain deluded." There's that bitter smile again. "How can you tell the false prophet from the true one?"

> Was the crucifix involved?

Father Yasuda shakes his head. "Not that I recall. Mikogami was never one to use...'the trappings of faith', as he called them."

> "I'm sorry to ask this, but... how did she die? Was it ten years ago? And her father brought her back six years ago, right?"

"Indeed."

At last, the priest eases himself into the seat. You can almost hear his bones creak, his shoulders slumping in exhaustion. One hand rubs lightly at his hip, as if remembering an old, old pain.

"-It was...very quick," he says - But there's a tightness in he voice. "She was already very weak. And then, one night...She slipped away." Yasuda doesn't quite sigh, but his gaze turns inwards, brooding.

He smiles, but there's no humour in it. "And who knows? Maybe he was right."

> "And her father brought her back six years ago, right?"

"-If only he had," Yasuda says. He sighs, heavily - Looking more careworn than ever before. "What I know is...After that, he *changed*. The Church changed with him - And not, I suspect, for the better."

He cups his chin in his hands.

"...You understand: His daughter meant everything to him. When she died, it was like the end of the world."

"And then, on a day of disaster - On a day I suspect no-one will ever forget..."

The old priest turns his wrist, his palm out.

(Continued)

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>>27257638

"Well. I suspect you know the rest."

[ ] "I thought...The papers called you a 'doomsday cult'."
[ ] "And what did you believe in, exactly?"
[ ] "...They said he was a conman."
[ ] "Did he really...dig her up?"
[ ] "Did you know what he was going to do?"
[ ] "I'm sorry."
[ ] "What happened next?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27257650

(Gentlemen, my apologies for the delay. My internet cut out, and - Unfortunately - it was a great chunk of text.)

>>27257638
>His voice is hushed, now. "...They'd come back healed. Not in the Biblical sense, of course - But the cancer would go into remission. A second opinion, that showed they *would* walk again. The new treatments would work, at last..."
So he gave people player essence?

>>27257672

It sounds more like he gave them luck/good fortune.

>>27257650
>[ ] "I'm sorry."
>[ ] "What happened next?"
not much else to say to him

>>27257687
And what gives people luck in this universe?
Player essence. It's why we've got dozens of girls clinging to us. The more people we murder, the luckier we get.

>>27257650

Wow, Kotone's lovely. If that's supposed to be her, she looks great. The whole story strikes me as incredibly tragic.

>>27257650
"I'm sorry. It sounds like quite a burden to carry.

I do know much of the rest, but only from an outside perspective. Not what it was like for someone close to it."

>>27257688
>>27257798

> [X] "I'm sorry."

"So am I," the old priest says - The slanting shadows shrouding him in momentary gloom. "-So am I."

> [X] "What happened next?"

"...For a long time, he was in mourning," Father Yasuda says. His eyes narrow, in recollection. "But after *that* - After that, came the prophecies." His fingers knit together, and he stares down at his hands.

"-A Promised Land, free from the suffering and sorrow of this world. A place where the grieving could be reunited with the lost. The end of the world, where only the virtuous would transcend..."

He sighs. "At first, I thought - Millenia fever. It might surprise you, but - Every religion predicts Armaggedon. Perhaps Man, in his hubris, longs for it. And he wasn't a doomsday preacher, snaring the unwary with hellfire and snake oil..."

Yasuda's eyes shut, as if the thought pains him.

"-No. He spoke, at length, about the need to do good. Not tomorrow, not the day after, but *now*. To treasure the beauty of each fleeting moment, to give what you didn't need - Because the riches of the world are nothing. Only souls endure."

There's a half-smile on his lips, as he taps his fist against his chest.

"He was never a greedy man. Did you know - When we were investigated, it was found that the government owed *us* money?" He shakes his head. "...It beggars belief."

With a sigh, he goes on. "Every cent we could spare - All of it - to good causes. Medical research, and..." Yasuda lifts his chin, slightly. "-The care of the unwanted, the forgotten. This place...Before Kotone died, it was his dream."

"I think," he says, carefully - "...I think he was hoping to find his daughter again. Perhaps he thought - Somehow - by doing all *this*...She'd finally forgive him."

"-If only he could have forgiven himself."

(Continued)

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>>27257847

He shakes his head, stirring himself from his bleak reverie.

"What they never tell you; He was almost right, you know," Yasuda says. "He preached that the end would come in four years - And it nearly did."

[ ] "Do you think he knew?"
[ ] "But...The world didn't end."
[ ] "That's what I thought too, at the time."
[ ] "Do you know where he might have gone?"
[ ] "Where were you, on the day it happened?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

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>>27255882
Cheeda Nick?

>>27257861
>[ ] "Do you think he knew?"
>[ ] "But...The world didn't end."
not much else to say, again

>>27257861
>[ ] "Do you think he knew?"

>>27257861
"It nearly did end for all of us. The world, big hunk of rock that it is, would've kept on spinning without us, not caring a whit for our troubles.

When we think of Armageddon we always think about ourselves don't we?"

>>27257847
>"-A Promised Land, free from the suffering and sorrow of this world. A place where the grieving could be reunited with the lost. The end of the world, where only the virtuous would transcend..."
He was definitely involved with the Red.

>>27257861

> [ ] "Where were you, on the day it happened?"
> [ ] "But...The world didn't end."

>>27257861

Just a guess. This guy was the original Black Cardinal.

Didn't he die in the last game's final phase?

... i bet he left something behind. Plans for the future. Things hidden away to make the world a better place. It seems like his style.

> [X] "But...The world didn't end."
> "When we think of Armageddon we always think about ourselves don't we?"

"Oh, indubitably. We are, after all, still here."

Then, very softly:

"...I suspect, however, that Mikogami's world ended a long time ago."

> [X] "Where were you, on the day it happened?"

"-He sent us away." From the edge to his words, you can tell - It's still a sore spot. "He told us that now was the time of decision; A chance to aid our fellow man, to ease the suffering of a stricken city."

Despite everything, Father Yasuda smiles. It's a grim smile. "...Even at the end, he still had a way with words."

He nods, significantly - "And we did, you know; We gave blood, we gave aid, we used our strength for those who needed it the most. That, I suspect, is why we've been allowed to remain...In our diminished circumstances, of course."

"It was...inspiring."

> [X] "Do you think he knew?"

Father Yasuda is silent, for a long, long time.

"-Perhaps," he says, carefully. "Perhaps he did."

He looks down.

"...We didn't realize it at first, you know. It took us three days - Three whole days - to realize what had befallen. And by then, it was already too late."

"-When I saw the empty grave...Only *then* did I know what had happened."

You can hear the hurt in his voice, undulled by time. "He'd taken *everything* in our coffers - Everything, all at once. Millions, when he vanished like a thief in the night."

"And his daughter. He'd taken her with him, too."

Yasuda shakes his head, slowly. "He-" he begins, his voice tight. "-He planned for this. All this time; This was what he'd been waiting for. How do you-" There's a catch in his throat. "...How could he look someone in the eye, when - All this time - this was what he'd intended?"

He puts his hands together, as if praying.

"Perhaps...Perhaps, in the end - No-one truly knew Mikogami at all."

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27257955

He was fighting Phantom Edge, and apparently strangling him. Given that only Argent Prominence and the old Joker walked away from that dust-up, he's probably dead.

>>27257963
>"Perhaps...Perhaps, in the end - No-one truly knew Mikogami at all."

"That doesn't sound like him. At all. Something else must have happened."

>>27257974
>He was fighting Phantom Edge, and apparently strangling him. Given that only Argent Prominence and the old Joker walked away from that dust-up, he's probably dead.

Yeah. Working theory is that the Black Joker got into Mikogami, then his daughter.

That would explain the sudden change of character

>>27257963

God damn, OP. This was fucking bleak.

Just...god damn.

>>27257984

Hmn.

but we actually saw kotone in person in one of the early threads, right?

And she gave us her cross in the red world, but we have it in person.

That means its Special.
We should ask to see his starburst. Perhaps try to place it as an Emblem?

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the hyades was involved - we know at least one of them has healing powers, and wants people to wear her icon.

>>27257984

That's a pretty good theory, but it doesn't seem right to me. Kotone was dead for four years before the apocalypse happened. She was definently dead when he dug her up.

>>27258011

Maybe. but, like, I remember some early thread where we saw her in PERSON, and she just kept running away from something.
Am i misremembering?

>>27258017
Nope, I clearly remember us meeting Kotone in real life.

But the thing is, it lead to us having a freaky dream where we die, bitten and chewed to death. Then we wake up and we have a note from Kotone.

Shit's up in the air.

>>27258011
>>27258023

Hmn.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/20143325/
And then you're looking down at the slumbering city as it comes to life, the first rays of dawn rising over the horizon, spreading a golden caress across the world.

Somewhere far, far below - Somewhere out there, in the bustling city - The Black Joker walks, cloaked in flesh: Frail, insignificant, shabby, miserable...And terrible, in the pure simplicity of his nature.

He passes on unsuspected and deadly, like a canker in the heart of men.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/26975148/
And everything goes wrong.

Impossible light floods into your mind, and - For one terrible moment - you see the yawning vastness of eternity. You see the angles of space, where they intersect with time: The ravening tides of the Red World, the wasted fringes deep, deep beneath the cracks in the earth, the fluid spasms of reality.

You see light and darkness and nothingness, colours without name - Vast shapes baying to each other across the gulfs of infinity.

You see yourself, toiling across black sands beneath a red-dark sky without a sun.

You see bones buried in rich, black mud.

You see a gaunt, cadaverous man gouging at the loamy soil, his hands cracked and bleeding - A form cradled in his arms, his expression contorted in ultimate suffering-

You see an explosion of blood-

Familiar blood.

You see...

-Too much.

And you crumple, as you begin to convulse-

...As somewhere, across a vast distance, a bell begins to toll.

Potential link?

>>27258010
She might have been a Memo... How are they called, again?
Not to mention that we did meet the Black Joker the first time we met her.

>>27257963
>[ ] Free
>YOU HAVE CONTROL

Frown. Do this.>>27257977

Then ask for a piece of paper.
Draw this:

It's a horned and laughing harlequin; A crude, scribbled graffitio, with a mouth pulled open until all you see is teeth. The shark-toothed grin....

Ask him if he's seen anything like this before.

>>27258039

Something is clearly up. She wasn't sick/dying when we saw her: She was actually quite healthy, if pale. But she was dead, with a capital D, in the past.

Is it like a Black Lantern Ring? Since the Red Joker needs a living host, does the Black Joker need a dead host?

>>27258052
>>27258057
Yeah, we first met her in some alley, then we took her home and gave her a place to stay for a night. Then weirdness, weirdness everywhere.

>>27258057

I'm guessing the black joker is in control now, and that church is a refuge of her sanity.

... likely we were Invited there by her cross.

This means other people may be able to go there too. Or that possibly this guys Starburst either gives him entry, or goes somewhere else

>>27258049
>Is it like a Black Lantern Ring? Since the Red Joker needs a living host, does the Black Joker need a dead host?

Hmn, okay.

The red joker uses the life force of TWO -(the armor is special) - to augment the user into a double-size ass kicker.
The red joker subverts a body, and with NO life force in the way, has room to realize ALL of it's potential with enough room to grow.

Truly is cancer. Two different kinds of the same coin, though. Parasitism vs Symbiosis

>>27258086
So the Black Joker is the Nanosuit 2.0, while the Red Joker is the Iron Man suit?

>>27258064

Who the fuck's deleting posts mid-conversation?
Knock it off

>>27258047

Basically drawing him the Black Joker's symbol.

>>27258106
>So the Black Joker is the Nanosuit 2.0, while the Red Joker is the Iron Man suit?

That would explain why we have the Singularity cannon, actually.
>Furthermore, targets destroyed by the Singularity Cannon are utterly annhilated - They have no chance to drop Relics, and their empowering essence (Green motes of light) is similarly consumed by the hungering nothing.

If killing the jokers lets you become the joker, than killing the black joker is kind of a bad thing.

If the jokers represent a sort of meta-struggle for types of life in the red world, then it makes sense one of our ultimate weapons is capable of blowing the black joker up ENTIRELY.

Possibly even leaving the host intact if its -just- the joker that gets trashed, though that's kind of a long shot.

>>27258143
We have to put that on our list of things to consider.

>>27257977

"Perhaps." That's all he says; But it speaks volumes.

You can tell, from the set of his jaw - The look in his eyes - He hasn't forgiven Mikogami yet. And you doubt that he ever will.

>>27258010

It's not a true starburst - Close up, it *does* resemble a cross...Albeit a cross with eight extra points, two between each 'arm' for a total of twelve.

"It represents the many roads a man may walk," Father Yasuda says - From the sound of it, he's glad to turn the topic towards more familiar ground. "...Faith, after all, should free rather than confine."

"Others say that they represent the twelve Apostles - Twelve guiding lights, to live your life by. But to most, they represent the hours. Twelve for twelve - Hence, the Church of the Last Hour."

>>27258047
>>27258123

He raises an eyebrow, as you make the sketch from memory: Somehow, the symbol is even more lurid than before, though you're fairly certain you've made a good represenstation of it. For a moment, Father Yasuda holds the sliver of paper between his fingers - Then he shakes his head.

"...Only in passing," he says, at last. "-In graffiti, perhaps. As a gang sign - Vandals, I would think." He lets it flutter from his grasp.

"I'm aware of the problem," Father Yasuda admits, carefully. "Upon legal maturity, the government subsidy no longer applies for...disenfranchised...children. It seems passing strange - Almost arbitary - to withdraw all support, all lifelines once a certain age is reached, but..."

His voice trails off. He doesn't finish the sentence, and perhaps he doesn't need to: His expression says, rather simply - There's nothing he can do.

Somewhere, in the distance, a bell begins to toll. It's an actual bell, the sound resonating through the chapel - Low, mournful, tolling the hour. At some point without your noticing, the day has shaded into late evening: A cold gust making the doors to the church rattle.

(Continued)

>>27258106

Nanosuit 2.0 vs Venom Symbiote may be a better comparison, but yeah.

>>27258179
>Somewhere, in the distance, a bell begins to toll

Fukken bells, man. Is our cassete player active?

>>27258179

It's late. Night comes early, in the cold season - It's already full dark, outside.

"Well." With a visible effort, Father Yasuda levers himself to his feet - Resting a hand on the railing for support. "My apologies, but...I have duties to attend to."

He half-smiles, not unkindly - "...And you, I suspect, have places to be."

Yasuda dips his head, in a little nod of thanks; "-I appreciate you hearing me out. I rarely have a chance to relate our story...To someone willing to listen, that is."

"Now...If you'd excuse me."

>>27258199

You touch a hand to your pocket - No, the cassette player is still and dead.

For now.

[ ] "Of course."
[ ] "Actually, I still had questions."
[ ] "Do you need any help?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27258179
>"Others say that they represent the twelve Apostles - Twelve guiding lights, to live your life by.

Hyades?
Cybele is also, perhaps, Rhea from greek/roman mythology.

>>27258256
[X] "Of course."

"Thank you for telling me your story, it's a very different thing to hear it from one so close to it."

>>27258258

Jesus christ had twelve apostles, didn't he?

>>27258285

i'm a filthy heretic, and can't answer that question off the top of my head

>>27258285
Twelve? Wasn't it thirteen, with one traitor?
Or was it twelve Apostles plus Jesus?
I don't quite remember. And I read the important parts of the bible in school.

>>27258285
>>27258314

It's twelve, not counting Judas and Mary Magadelene. There are probably more, but the accepted view is that there were twelve of 'em.

>>27258256

> [X] "Of course."
> [X] "Do you need any help?"

>>27258256
"Of course. Sorry for taking up so much time."
Pause.
"It seems like I still have to look for her... and maybe what he left behind to finish my search. One day, I may come back and tell you a side of the story that I'll discover. That is, unless I end up like my predecessor."

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>>27258282

> "Thank you for telling me your story, it's a very different thing to hear it from one so close to it."

"Indeed it is."

>>27258420

> "It seems like I still have to look for her... and maybe what he left behind to finish my search. One day, I may come back and tell you a side of the story that I'll discover. That is, unless I end up like my predecessor."

"And I look forward to hearing it," Father Yasuda says - You can tell, from the slight tilt of his head, that he doesn't entirely understand...But it seems that he appreciates the sentiment, regardless.

>>27258369

> [X] "Do you need any help?"

He shakes his head, slowly - No.

"There's no need, young man. Someone else will be along presently." That smile, again; "...He worries too much, I suspect. For now, however - I think I shall remain a little longer."

That seems to be fairly definite as a dismissial - And that's how you leave him, the old priest silhouetted by the twitching light: His expression thoughtful, yet somehow sad, as he turns away from you, gazing at the altar.

-Outside; It's a cold night, the moon rich and full in the sky. The wind moans as you trudge along, turning the collar of your coat up; Your shoes crunching in rime. Far across the compound, you can make out the commotion of everyday life - The kids you saw earlier (The ones playing soccer) must've been called in for dinner.

As you draw away, towards the front gate, you can hear someone walking towards the chapel, along the winding path - In the gloom, it's hard to see him, but you make out the faintest suggestion of a lanky form; Something that might be red hair - The faintest whiff of gasoline...

And then you hear the click-click-clik as your cassette recorder whirrs to life. The sound is barely perceptible, mechanical...

(Continued)

>>27258486

Your vision doubles. You hear a *sound* that sets your teeth on edge - Like the blank hum that comes in the wake of a concussion, as the edges of the world began to tremble and vibrate-

It's a transition, but - It's not a smooth one. It's hard-edged, with the sour squeal of a signal - Like barbed fishooks sinking into your temples, *dragging* at you with an insistent siren cry; Tugging on your soul, your sense of self, as reality flickers red - Then back.

For one blank moment, a frenzied blur of motion is superimposed over your vision - Red is in ascendance, coming in waves. But this feels *wrong*; It's not *you* doing it. Then there's that blank sound again, like an internal pressure building up - Loud enough to make your jaw lock-

[ ] Resist.
[ ] Transform.

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27258539
Transform.
To resist seems to harm us physically. We just murder the fucker who is forcing us to do this.

>>27258539
>[ ] Resist.
>[ ] Transform.

This seeems like its related to us sticking our head in the red world in the SOURCE of the monster.

We have two options.

Resist, and get out of the area - we're the fish its sunk its jaws into, and we need to get away and hope it doesn't come back later

OR

Transform and kick it's ass, and hope we don't fall victim to the next black joker.

>>27258539
>[ ] Resist.
>[ ] Transform.

Option 3. Lift the Nihl sphere, see if its light makes any alterations to the things we can see

>>27258539

> [X] Transform.

Let's take some motherfuckers to SCHOOL.

>>27258645
>>27258586

We're being challenged by a PLACE, though, not a person. One that's trying to make us *stay* and listen to *it*

This motherfuckin place's haunted by the ghosts of the past

The best thing we can do now is get a Barrier up soon as we hit the red world once we're dragged it.

I like this anon's plan - if it's got an anchor in the real world, we find it with the nihl sphere and weaken it before the confrontation.

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>>27258634

> Lift the Nihl sphere, see if its light makes any alterations to the things we can see.

It feels like your ears are bleeding, as the pressure builds to a crescendo. Any moment now - Any moment now - you're absolutely certain your head is going to explode.

Somehow, you fumble the Nihl Sphere into your grasp; Fingers already curled into claws, the wan violet light limning in the world in eerie shades as you hold it out before you - The swirl of surreal light receding, taking form, into...

-Into a single, staring red eye.

> [X] Transform.

It's almost a relief to let go - The agony is total, all-encompassing. The world blurs around you...But then you feel a hard *tug*, one that wrenches you off your feet; There's the sensation of *movement*, of immense speed through a blank space - So fast, so *fast* that the sharp lines of your armour sing with stress, frost blistering across your crimson plate...

And suddenly, with a *snap* like a noose yanking taut-

You're free.

But only for a moment.

Even as the Red World takes shape around you, twin plumes of fire blossom before you; The concussive impact hits you like a fist to the gut, as you're hurled off your feet - The gritty *thump* of the explosion hailing down in shards of rusted iron that *spang* and clatter off your armour. There isn't enough force to penetrate, but the blast-wave rattles you like a die in a cup - Not hurt, but momentarily shaken, a chalky dust cloud swirling around you, shrouding the blocky, bulky form in the distance...

STAGE: DIS

Wait, what? Where *are* you?

Through the impact-smog, you can make out the pitted buildings of the iron city rising up on all sides; Your targeting sensors finding a lock at last, on the hulking form that bleeds waste-heat into the surrounding area.

(Continued)

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>>27258800

It's a *tank*. Like a mechanized centaur of old myth, a Player's torso - Gunmetal grey-and-blue - swivels on a turret-style waist, above a massive set of treads: Bristling with weapons, the firing ports of the triple-linked launchers on each shoulder ratcheted open, smoking with fyceline and exhaust.

Your system tags:

PANZER GALIENT

Across speakers, a mechanized voice crackles out - In a clunking gear-on-gear grind:

"The *Red Joker*?"

PYTHIA

VS

PANZER GALIENT

That's not right. This is - It's someone *else's* fight. So why are you...?

Overhead, the sky churns with black clouds - Backlit by sullen flickers of lightning, the rotation that threatens a storm. Craters mark the blasted street, small fires smoldering in pits of twisted metal.

"What the fuck," PANZER GALIENT growls, raising his voice over the dry *hiss* of the crumbling buildings around him. "-I'm nothing if not flexible. You first, then - Then the flying bitch."

Acutators grind in his shoulders, as he brings his arms up and over to target you, with an ease borne of long practice - Each gauntleted fists grips a massive firearm, target hardlinks and cooling cables wired into his julking form.

The flying...?

And then, another target signature winks to life, an urgent warning at the very edge of perception: Registering a cool, chiming tone, as clear as a bell - One that you've never heard before.

A targeting signature that means, 'ally'.

(Continued)

>>27258873
>Red Joker is getting pulled into random fights between other players now

As if we weren't enough of a grim reaper already.

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>>27258873
>IFF picks up an ally
>red world
>ally
This just makes me more paranoid.

>>27258894
We, we were already constantly intruding into the matchmaking system.
This just makes it even more hilarious. Especially as the dude doesn't seem to give a fuck.

Maybe we should ask him if he REALLY wants to die.

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>>27258873

The shape looms above - Lethal, angular, like a jagged blade stabbing down towards the earth. Blade-sharp, it *hovers*; A bristling halo rotating serenely behind the floating form, neon highlights skittering across the barbed surface. It hangs there, a shape that could be a dagger or a-

-coffin-

...An ivory mask affixed in place, gazing serenely down at the spectacle below. There's an awesome gravity to it: The air warping slightly with the seething forces that hold it upright. Red light, the faintest flicker of it, issues from beneath the false face - Sensory ganglia bristling from every inch of the surface, like a thousand tiny waving fronds, antennae tasting the bitter air.

At last, an ID:

PYTHIA

Your treacherous crosshairs blank out, your weapons refusing to target the hovering interloper - Alien symbols dancing at the edges of your vision, systems swapping blurts of electronic noise.

PROCESSING SYSTEM ACCESS AUTHORITY...

> C0MM4ND PR070C0l5 0V3RR1d3

> SYSTEM AUTHORITY ENABLED
> PYTHIA

> QUANTUM LINK ESTABLISHED

Your HUD wavers, then *splits* in two. At the very corners of your vision, new screens flip open; Grainy video, in a blue filter wash. As Panzer Galient's fingers tighten hungrily on the triggers, projectile trajectories skitter into view - His form doubling, detaching, an azure sensor ghost leaving phantom contrails as his crushing treads begin to spin up...

-You're not just seeing where he *is*.

You're seeing where he *will* be.

And even as that realization crystallizes in your mind, with the slow-motion flash-flicker of a strobe light...

Panzer Galient begins to fire.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 60

TO BE CONTINUED

>>27258873
Wait! We have an ally? Oh joyous day! What a wonderful thing.

This is such a strange and new thing for us.

>>27259015

(Gentlemen: I'd love to continue, but I'm utterly exhausted. It's close to midnight here, and this looks like a natural break-point.

As always, you're been a wonderful audience; My apologies for the slow pace tonight, but I'm still getting back into the swing of things. Good night and god bless - And I hope to see you again soon.)

>>27259015
Reminds me waaaay too much of that corrector/player hybrid.

And we've just linked to it, I guess? Red Joker can see the future? Well fuck. Panzer Galient is beyond screwed.

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>>27259015
>pythia
Oh this gon be gud.

>>27259015

What is that thing? It doesn't look like any player we've seen so far. Did it summon us into the fight?

>>27259015
I have a feeling that Pythia plays by drawing in bystanders to fight for her.

Also, we have Jedi vision. How about adding the Carnifex and ripping apart all of his connector cables with our melee equipment?
I can't wait for next thread.

>>27259015
Okay, that's kinda weird, kinda cool, and kinda freaky, scary, and bad that somebody else can override our command protocols and has system authority.

It makes sense that we can see the future though now, Pythia was the Oracle at Delphi, well known for her predictions of the future. I say we turn on the Argus system as well for maximum situational awareness of the present and the future.

Did we just get dragged into this fight to act at this girl's muscle? Because that shit is just plain impolite. We can worry about that later, after we wreck Panzer's shit, but I have to agree with Panzer's assessment of the situation, "what the fuck" indeed.

>>27259065
Looks like. Pythia seems to be one of the oddest things I can imagine in this world, a support focused Player. I guess dragging other Players in to fight for her and acting as a force multiplier is how she does things. It's actually a rather clever way of doing things.

She can probably help fight in other ways as well.

>>27259095
We could do that, I have the feeling the Crisis Fist would be not very good for him, and considering that he's a tank covered in guns, and doesn't seem all that fast or good at melee it's not a truly bad idea.

But I feel we should probably play to our strengths in case he has some ace up his sleeve for close up, melee is an obvious way to counter him and he wouldn't have lasted this long without some way of dealing with it.

Between the Argus System, this cool future sight, us activating the afterimages on the Assault Shroud, and Interceptor Bits he pretty much can't hit us. We can plink at him from range, maneuver around him, blow chunks out of him with the Tau Gun, and then hit him with bigger armor piercing attacks like the Chain Mine, the Railgun, the Graviton Cannon, and so on when we feel like it or have the Meter.

>>27259174
>range
Be careful about that.
I'd say our best bet is to close in and test for force fields. If he doesn't have a way to block our attacks in melee, we aim for weak points until we gain enough meter.
At no point should we stop moving. His tank chassis implies that he's hard on ranged firepower and defense.
If we can't go melee, I'm all for destroying his projectiles with our vulcans until we can kill him with chain mines and the fusion annihilator.
Thank fuck for our two shielding relics.

By the way, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a way of locking onto the heat signature of our jetpack. Be careful with that.

Can the Argus System scan for weak points?

>>27258873

>"-I'm nothing if not flexible. You first, then - Then the flying bitch."

Oh man, I already like him:
> "I don't give two shit, let's just kill everyone."

>>27259038
This was great, good to have you back. ETA of next thread?

>>27259417

Check out OP's twitter.

>>27259234

You know, just because he's a tank doesn't mean that he's slow. Once he starts moving, I doubt there'd be anything that can make him stop.

>>27259721
Tanks have high speeds and maneuver decently well, but I can assure you that his huge-ass arms won't be much of an advantage in close combat, even with a rotating torso.

>>27255882

You know, OP, I have to say something. I've been watching Gatchaman Crowds recently, which has left something of a bad taste in my mouth. The show is basically about social justice warriors fighting evil with the power of FACEBOOK, with an angsty crossdresser and an incredibly gay alien as the antagonist.

This is like a breath of fresh air. I say this because I like how straightforward morality in Joker Quest is: Kill or be killed.

What I'm saying is, I'm glad that the quest is so downbeat and combat-focused. This probably came as a non-sequiter tho.

>>27261340

So CROWDS is LIBERAL KAMEN RIDER? Ugh.

>>27261395

It's more like the show's about a hugbox. Arguably every one except the antagonist is a good guy, they're just at cross-purposes at how to fix the world.

JQ is more like how people would behave when given super powers. Like a pack of starving monkeys armed with knives.

>>27257963

Wow, altruism just doesn't work, does it? No wonder the Cardinal went off the deep end. At least we now know that he was up to something when he went missing.

His church doesn't seem to be bad people. At least if this guy is any indication.

>>27261340

It's mostly because the focus is different. Crowds focuses on changing the world via revolution. Player powers in Joker quest are fundamentally made to kill and destroy other players.

>>27261340
>>27261395
>>27261464
I like Gatchaman Crowds because Hajime doesn't give a fuck.
Not to keen on secondary characters, but I'm not sure what's wrong with everyone being a good guy.
I personally believe that most people are good at heart and/or redeemable. And it annoys me when a story has chucklefucks that are evil for the sake of being evil.

We still don't know if players in Joker Quest HAVE to fight.
We do know that you don't have to DIE. It's just that we kill everyone and transform them into hats.

>>27261700

>Not to keen on secondary characters, but I'm not sure what's wrong with everyone being a good guy.

It doesn't make for a very compelling story. Or maybe the bright colours just turn me off.

I'm fairly certain that in JQ, even if players didn't have to fight, they'd still kill each other either way for sweet, sweet Essence and the perks that come with it.

Pretty much the only Player that is out=and-out heroic is chrome Cypher, and natsumi takes her marching orders from argent silver. Even the black tri-stars are basically mercenaries looking to make a buck.

>>27261464

Yeah, red Joker isn't exactly a very heroic guy. But we're very good at killing people, and we're pointed at people who are clearly bad. That probably counts for something.
If Mikogami or some of his cultists are still around, who wants to bet they're aiming for the promised land?

>>27261796
>Or maybe the bright colours just turn me off.
That's more likely.
There's plenty of stories about good guys that are actually good.
The best stories are the ones where people go into conflict exactly BECAUSE they are all good. The villain doesn't murder everyone for fun - He actually tries to do some good and needs to step over corpses to do that.
Sometimes it's fun to have a villain that you can outright murder without feeling guilty, but most of the time it just comes of as a carricature.

Look at Accel World. Taku is a dick at the beginning, but (if I'm not remembering correctly) he actually had believable motivations for doing so.
And he became a good guy afterwards and tried his best to redeem himself.


...And now I just felt remembered of the Highschool DxD main character, who has no qualms about toying with girls and is somehow still the "good" protagonist.
When he gets told that his dragon fist has the magical power of a passive affect that charms women, his first thought is "awesome!" instead of "this will turn into a clusterfuck full of jealousy and heartbreak".
I don't know what the fuck is going on the head of whoever is writing this story.

>>27261849
...Dude, the Smilers have been talking in religious terms since the first. Enfer even talks about "the Departure".

Anyway, as I've been putting the summary together, I've come to think that in order to get a good ending we're going to have to destroy the Red World. Not quite sure how to do it, but the other options lead to bad ends or sub-par resolutions.

Side with the Smilers: Smilers continue to exist. There's something about the ship that bugs me too.

Side with Akira: Possibly involves letting the Red World spill over into the real, given his comments about "everyone being a Player if they could".

Side with Argent: He wants to build a city in the Red World, so that the city in the real world will benefit. The problem is when he runs out of Correctors (and he will; Red Joker+Argent Prominence is a winning combo) he's going to need other sources of Essence, and Players are the best one.

Side with no one: The cycle continues, and Anon gets the pit until his successor shows up.

Destroy the Red World: Pretty high chance of getting Red Joker killed; on the other hand it's the single balliest choice and has the best chance of not having horrific repercussions down the line.

>>27261951

Is it even possible to destroy the Red World? My main question is: What happens if someone wins the game? What does winning the game even entail?

We do know that the last time it happened, everything went bad all at once. The group murdered each other, and the city was fucked so hard the calendar felt it.

Maybe it's less like "The Red Joker is guaranteed a place in the finals" and more like "Only the toughest motherfuckers make it to the end, and since the Red Joker has so many advantages, SOMEONE wearing his boots will show up."

>>27261951

> If Mikogami or some of his cultists are still around, who wants to bet they're aiming for the promised land?
> ...Dude, the Smilers have been talking in religious terms since the first. Enfer even talks about "the Departure".

Only the virtuous get to go to the promised land. Like in the rapture, everyone who isn't one of the chosen people gets the shaft.

>>27261951
I say we go for the lulzy way:
We decide based on our private life.
If something goes very badly (like, say, Hecate killing herself because of Mio) we can just decide to fuck everyone and go for the highest level of collateral damage.
Because if there's one thing that we're good at, it's murdering as many people as possible in as flashy ways as possible.

>>27262061

> (like, say, Hecate killing herself because of Mio)

Fuck, that's a meltdown in the future if I've seen one. Are we still going to play around with Mio? Because it seems like we'll be going to her school soon, which means we'll be seeing a lot of her.

She's an incredibly sweet girl. I get the feeling she'd be totally crushed if we break her heart.

>>27262053

My guess is that it refers to Players. How do you get to the promised land? On a boat. Or rather, on a ship.

>>27262091
There's a good chance that she knows that we called her our girlfriend during that one recent encounter.

>>27262221

Which one was that? I don't recall mio ever meeting hecate. By the time of the bardiel fight, hecate was already MIA.

>>27262249
I was talking about the customer that we treated like an ass.

>>27262053
Right. Whoever Pazuzu is, he obviously was exposed to Mikogami's teachings and took up his message. But he's founded a new church in the underpeople of the city: the orphans, the streetkids, the adults with nothing to lose, the disaffected and the mad. The chosen people are the ones who listen to Pazuzu's message and survive to the end.

>>27262010
Dunno if it's possible. With enough system access authority it might be possible to edit system information, but even deleting the Player registry would be bad long term since the Correctors would be able to roam unchecked. We'd have to cut the two worlds apart somehow so that what happens in the Red stops affecting the real. The two things we know currently that might be able to do that are the Fatal Abyss and the Manifold Tower.

>captcha: Judas rvisics
...I think it's trying to tell me something.

>>27262302

Y'know, Mio did kiss us. Then there was that make-out session. We are basically dating at this point. The girl seems pretty needy, however.

My theory is that her anathema field doesn't affect players.

>>27262305
>Dunno if it's possible. With enough system access authority it might be possible to edit system information, but even deleting the Player registry would be bad long term since the Correctors would be able to roam unchecked. We'd have to cut the two worlds apart somehow so that what happens in the Red stops affecting the real. The two things we know currently that might be able to do that are the Fatal Abyss and the Manifold Tower.
We have massive amounts of player essence. How about swiping our black credit card and restarting the world by giving it all of our accumulated fortune?

Then again, a C end would only turn us into a hobo.

>...I think it's trying to tell me something.
I hate when captcha is doing that.

>>27262342
>needy
She is very relaxed, considering that we often go days without contacting her and that we constantly are involved in weird situations.
I don't know how you can see her as needy.
The fact that we are still trying to find Hecate is just waiting to murder us.

>>27262302

Naoya is Megumi's boyfriend, apparently. That's a mismatched couple if we've ever seen one. megumi's not very classy, and Naoya is basically an older us.

>>27262342
It hit Anon after the tennis match. Went away just as quickly and hasn't been an issue since, except for near that damn cat. Mio's problems also stem from being a poor girl going to a rich girl's school.

>>27262386
The essence charge is what's going to put us into a position to do something about the cycle in the first place. A Player's essence charge generally doesn't affect the Red World, but the Red Joker's been building it up since it was first created, taking essence from everyone killed by it, and adding the total charge of everyone who's become it.

As for Mio, she really is attached to Anon. She isn't needy so much as single-minded. She doesn't pay attention to stuff going on at her school except what directly effects her, and when she talks to Anon's friends she wants to talk about Anon.

Oh goddammit, that explains part of why Kazuya's pissed: he's got a male case of Hot Best Friend Syndrome. People (particularly girls) get close to him to get close to Anon. The other part is that he's a good guy seeing his best friend jerk at least two (extraordinarily attractive) girls around.

>>27262605
>Oh goddammit, that explains part of why Kazuya's pissed: he's got a male case of Hot Best Friend Syndrome. People (particularly girls) get close to him to get close to Anon. The other part is that he's a good guy seeing his best friend jerk at least two (extraordinarily attractive) girls around.
He will also be the guy to murder us if we fuck with these girls.
I don't think he'd appreciate us toying with them.

>>27262605

It's funny to think that, from Mio's perspective, she's basically in a shoujo manga.

Yeah, Kazuya's starting to look at us a little cross-eyed, now. He wasn't very happy about the thing with Asuna.

I still think he'd make one hell of a player.

>>27262671
>I still think he'd make one hell of a player.
Man, I'd love to have Kazuya introduced into the Red World and teach him together with Natsumi.
But we don't know how someone becomes a player and it might be morally wrong to have him fight for his life.
Then again, I'd imagine him being very glad at finally knowing the secret of his two best friends.

>>27262671
He's definitely the most main character like person in the quest. If Joker Quest were an anime I'd cast him as the decoy protagonist, a new Player just learning the ropes. The highlight of his tenure as main character would be leading the audience to think that Anon (renamed to Tanaka Taro; Japan's equivalent to John Doe) is Chrome Cypher.

>>27262799

The whole 'hundred years in virtual hell' would be a great arc, IMO. It'd be like STALKER with people in power armour, except nearly everyone dies horribly.

Or has their brains turn to pudding.

>>27262821
It could be really heartbreaking with the insane behaviour that most people will showcase after a while.
Like trying to eat sand or fleshy players or something.

>>27262799

We still need to ask Argent his theory on how people turn into Players. Coincidentally, i've missed every single thread Argent shows up. Damn time zone differences.

>>27259015
>PROCESSING SYSTEM ACCESS AUTHORITY...
>> C0MM4ND PR070C0l5 0V3RR1d3
>> SYSTEM AUTHORITY ENABLED
>> PYTHIA
>> QUANTUM LINK ESTABLISHED

This shit is why we need better System Access and the Emulator Chip.

We just dun got Codeburst slash admin-spawned to deal with a threat.

My guess is that this is either another bid for our Allegiance, or The System asking for reinforcements when someone is trying to make Something Critical happen that shouldn't.

>>27259234
>Thank fuck for our two shielding relics.

We really need to fix the shielding orb part of teh cobalt booster, actually

>>27259297
>Oh man, I already like him:
>> "I don't give two shit, let's just kill everyone."

haha yeah this is where he's patterned after US.

Also this makes me want to make THE DOMINION.

its probably worth a 100% charge on the hollow sun.

>>27263013

So far, it seems to work like this. You don't physically enter the red world, your soul does. Your body keeps walking around as an empty shell.

Your soul is made of essence. If you're a player, you reflexively form a suit of armour around yourself to protect your essence. It's like pouring water into a vase. If the vase is damaged, all the water comes gushing out.

Except since the water is your soul-juice, it means that you die. Note that Argent doesn't know EVERYTHING, because he's completely baffled by the existence of the Hyades nymphs. He thinks that they cannot possibly exist.

>>27261951
>Destroy the Red World: Pretty high chance of getting Red Joker killed; on the other hand it's the single balliest choice and has the best chance of not having horrific repercussions down the line.

What if we removed the Corrector Problem -entirely-? Wouldn't that by default eliminate a lot of real-world problems?

>>27262836
Like that one dude who walked into the acid sea because he thought he was thirsty.

That was a pretty moving scene.

>>27262342
>My theory is that her anathema field doesn't affect players.

Then there's that wierd red-world-suppressing field kazuya does.

The earth obviously has some.... hidden defenders not entirely connected to the red. Maybe they could help?

>>27263063

Was one of the upgrades for the Booster a shielding mechanism? I remember we would've received something similar to vernier/VTOL capability down one route with it. And we're running around with three shields technically. The abjudicator replacement. Our Shroud that transforms into Rho Aias, and EXEC_BARRIER that nullifies other code bursts.

Which we should totally use.

>>27263139
>I remember we would've received something similar to vernier/VTOL capability down one route with it.

That was.... with a Vetruvian Device, i think.

We should find another

>>27263078

I'd still enjoy hearing his theory though. We have OUR theories, but what about someone who has been around the block?

>>27263158

I think Argent confirmed the 'armour is a shell to protect essence' theory, actually.

>>27263126

When people don't get to eat, drink, sleep or breathe for a while, and spend all the time in a hostile environment...Shit gets fucked, yo.

>>27263101
It would create the new problem of many Corrector hunters now needing to fight other players.
Even the slightest injury in a player vs player duel causes seriously bad luck. In the literal sense.

>>27263158
>I'd still enjoy hearing his theory though. We have OUR theories, but what about someone who has been around the block?

What we really need is to Become Complete again. Find the corrector who ate our heart, and get it back, and get the old joker's memories.

If we can get that, we should remember a lot about how the game works, since we went throught the finals last time

>>27263186
>since we went throught the finals last time
We didn't.
The old Joker did.

>>27261951
>Implying siding with Akira isn't the most in character choice.

Think of all the fighting RJ would get to do if everyone was a player.

>>27263208

Right. And akira is offering to return the old joker's memories to us in exchange for the final part of phantom edge

>>27263183

Correctors are the psychic will of humanity to destroy.

Players are the psychic will of humanity to live.

It's just that something got fucked up during one of the 'games' and it's now a free-for-all with everyone trying to kill each other.

>>27263209
RJ for world domination.
Bonus point: No one would fuck with us in the real, even if our identity was known. Because we can now eliminate ANYONE.
We will also be challenged at least five times a day due to overload of the quickmatch function.

>>27263240
I'd actually say that the Corrector's are the collective subconsciousness of humanity trying to re-create normality, while the players oppose normality by breaking the even distribution of fortune. And the relics make it even worse.

>>27263209

Akira really just wants to figure out who he is. It's interesting to note how each class of player is running through its own personal gauntlet to be number one.

Red Joker = Kill or be killed.

Swords = Put all the pieces of the Fatal Abyss together.

Pentagram = Not sure. Has there been any one besides Pazuzu?

Chalice = Manipulate Players into doing their bidding.

Diamonds = Not sure. Maintain the status quo?

>>27263078
Not quite--he's never seen them himself, but he thinks they assume pleasing female forms to entice regular Players. Whether into protecting them or into traps, either way they represent a danger.

>>27263101
Maybe. Correctors don't cause every problem in the real world, but they do cause some, and they exacerbate others. Players can cause problems too; we've burned down buildings (though we probably saved the city money when it came to Paradise Cathedral), punched sinkholes into the ground, and broken the first seal of the apocalypse.

>>27263209
I think Anon's been pretty consistent in finding the fights something to put up with, not embrace. Hell, Anon doesn't even take advantage of his ludicrous essence charge in the real world. No clubs, no out of school activities except investigating the Red World. I think he's trying to minimize his own effect on reality.

>>27263242
Five or five hundred, Red Joker always wins

>>27263265

With all of the symbolism being thrown around, anything goes at this point. I wouldn't be surprised at this point if we CHIM.

>>27263303
Yeah, because he's running away. It's clear that the only thing that actually feels real is the fighting, but if you were that guy, would you want to believe that?

No, you'd want to believe that there's still a chance to be human, not just a weapon.

>>27263317

>at some point if we CHIM

Predictive typing. Stop. Very up the sentence structure for gods sake.

>>27263209

If everyone was a player, society would shred itself like a bag of shrews in a blender. It would basically be the apocalypse, because no-one would be able to impose order.

Argent Prominence, the most powerful player in the entire city, is having trouble dealing with the endlessly respawning monsters that claw their way out of hell.

He has an entire fortress and is churning out weapons 24/7...But even then, they just barely manage to keep a lid on things.

>>27263351
And that is, on a subconscious level, Red Joker's ideal endgame.

Enough fighting that he doesn't have to stop and think ever again.

>>27263314

That's more true than you know. The Red Joker ALWAYS wins, because whoever dies becomes the new Joker. No matter what the result, the Red Joker walks away.

>>27263351
>If everyone was a player, society would shred itself like a bag of shrews in a blender. It would basically be the apocalypse, because no-one would be able to impose order.

The hollow sun could.

If EVERYONE was a player, if the red world crossed ENTIRELY to the real, then the hollow sun could act as a police force without fear of its officers degrading and falling apart without the red world's energies.

And whomever controlled it....

>>27263390

Is that really true? There's no indication that we're a particularly bad guy, or especially bloodthirsty. We certainly don't seem to mind being a schoolboy, and we clearly enjoy flirting with cute girls.

I always thought that RJ is content to rest when he can, because he's already seen so much war. But the Smilers really lit a fire under him, because they made it personal.

>>27263335
Maybe his only way to feel rewarded is the Red, because having luck all the time removes the risks.
And after Hecate, he feels even more empty. He is still reluctant to commit to Mio, but he does like her and would be crushed if she chose someone else or something happened to her.
It's one of these "he's an asshole until he loses her" situations.

>>27263317
>CHIM
I felt very weirded out when I found out what this is.
It reminds me of the old times, when 4chan was so full of memes that you couldn't understand a word without lurking for ages.

But CHIM seems like a viable method in this setting.

>>27263395
>That's more true than you know. The Red Joker ALWAYS wins, because whoever dies becomes the new Joker. No matter what the result, the Red Joker walks away.

There's got to be a way to stop this process, though. What if someone already HAS a..... Player Plus augment, like the red/black joker, or the midas armor?

I mean, if it comes down to it, and our attempts to rescue hecate come to a suicide mission, could we super-power HER into the next joker if we were gonna die?
Might go a long ways towards making up for her Moratorium-lack of powers.

The real question is whether the misericorde's purpose is to STOP the red joker, or to TRANSFER the red joker, though.
Perhaps a similiar item exists for the Black Joker?

>>27263415

So neutral end frm New Vegas then? I'm okay with this. Although, who is Yes Man?

>>27263459
Do share?

>>27263335
I think it's because when he first came out of the Red World he wanted no reminders about how it had changed him, but he couldn't stop winning at everything he did because of luck. Other contestants make stupid mistakes in games, get hurt or sick in sports, people approach him with fantabulous offers instead of focusing on people with real talent... The Red World wound up feeling more real to him because it was the only place where life didn't reshape itself to his whims.

>>27263415
Since I was the last person to suggest this, I'm going to have to stop you right there. The Hollow Sun is a single use device. Once the Hellions are sent off, that's it, they're gone. And they're on a time limit, so they die after a set amount of time.

>>27263415
>And whomever controlled it....
I just had a weird-ass idea:
We could create some kind of Tiberium-like agent to suck up essence for us.
And then we harvest it.
And we protect the fields with giant digging worms.

>>27263486
It's basically a TES meta thing, where the console is basically canon.
It's a bit like the God Hangar in Hardwar.

>>27263489

With enough upgrades, we probably CAN have a few Hellions as minions.

>>27263486

Basically, the world is a dream. And everyone and everything in that world is part of the dream. Those who realize it is a dream become bullshit powerful and can change the dream to their whim. Cyrodill, the capital of the Empire? You know what that was before Vivec changed it? Fucking jungle.

Vivec also killed the person in Morrowind proceeding the player character so the player character could play the player character.

>>27263506

english plz?

>>27263415
>Red Joker has control
>Red Joker keeps you safe
>Red Joker is your hope

>Do not disobey the Hollow Sun

>>27263545
If we take all of the endgame players, we could get some kind of Rapture thing going. (The Bioshock one)
AP is already the mad scientist with torture experiments, for example.

>>27263489
>Once the Hellions are sent off, that's it, they're gone. And they're on a time limit, so they die after a set amount of time.

They're on a time limit BECAUSE they degrade while seperated from the red world's energies.

The hollow sun is humanitie's half-realized dream of a glistening savior from the skies. Are you sure it wouldn't change if the Red World became THE World?

Because this game is all about the red shaping the real.

(anyway, the point i was getting at that you seemed to have missed, if the red world was omnipresent, the red world's energies that keep the hellions going would also be everywhere too. There's no hardcoded self-destruct timer like you seem to be implying - its just a manner of sustainability. as far as we know.)

>>27263539
>Vivec changed it

That was Tiber Septim.

>Vivec killed the Hortator to make the game happen

NO

FUCK

Vehk killed the Hortator because Vehk the mortal is an asshole, as is Vehk the god, as is Vivec.

>>27263581

I haven't read up on my lore in years.. probably since.. well, Morrowind. Excuse me if I'm a out of touch with most of it.

>>27263580
>Are you sure it wouldn't change if the Red World became THE World?
Yes, 100%. The Hollow Sun is an artificial environment designed to produce and store Hellions. They can't exist outside the Hollow Sun in any form for very long. They don't self-destruct, they rot away.

>>27263699
Theoretically, it would work if we had some really fuckhuge power source.
Our Cobalt Booster can power Hollow Sun equipment and keep it alive, after all.

>>27263699
Ehhh. At that point, it's just a matter of logistics. We could be harvesting essence and feeding the Sun to create more Hellions and gain a net positive.

Or we could go full animu and gather up the strongest players to be our generals while we sit on a giant ass throne in the Hollow Sun.

>>27263719
Maybe not. They'd still degrade no matter what since the Hollow Sun is both power source and sealed environment.

>>27263820
Pretty sure that the manufacturing systems will be destroyed when the Sun fires. Otherwise there's no way to enforce the "single shot" thing.

>>27263855
>Pretty sure that the manufacturing systems will be destroyed when the Sun fires. Otherwise there's no way to enforce the "single shot" thing.
>>27263719
>Theoretically, it would work if we had some really fuckhuge power source.
>Our Cobalt Booster can power Hollow Sun equipment and keep it alive, after all.


This is why I want to try manufacturing Hellion Bits. See if its possible to temporarily seperate a hellion from the sun - whether its viable to sustain, or its control systems can be altered to do this

>>27263855
The Sun doesn't fire. It just unleashes a huge swarm of Hellions. Nothing stopping it from building more, it would just take a while and leave the Sun relatively defenseless for a while.

It's funny how the dude who likes the Red because he doesn't own it gets to have the Hollow Sun.
Red Joker really isn't ambitious enough for this kind of equipment. He just wants to fight and there's no fight when you swarm the world with Hellions.

>>27263932

one day, we're going to get into a fight we can't win.

All the smilers vs us; descending into Corrector hive hell, or unknown bullshit as the endgame approaches.

And one day, we are going to be VERY happy to have the Fuck You at out fingertips.

>>27263932
>Red Joker orchestrates the next iteration of the game and then erases his own memory because he wants somebody to fight

Oh shit

>>27263997
>Red Joker
>Fight we can't win

I don't understand

I mean, the individual words make sense, but the overall meaning just sort of... slides away.

>>27264021

Hey, we very nearly lost to enfer. Twice. And pazuzu.

There's a difference between Winning, Dying, Escaping, and calling a Draw.

Red joker isn't invincible. So far, we've been able to avoid critical mistakes, but we could have handled the last Enfer two-vs-1 better.

>>27263997
>And one day, we are going to be VERY happy to have the Fuck You at out fingertips.
I guess that decides it.
THIS is how we'll spec the Hollow Sun. As our 1up machine.
It only exists to provide a distraction and fuck everything if we ever get overwhelmed.

We need:
- Healing (Or maybe just temporary bonus health or something)
- Teleporting Hellions (they need to reach us instantly)
- Teleporting equipment (We will be burning through MANY gravity cannons if we ever need to use our 1up)

We definitely want to get us a kind of support Hellion with sensory equipment. Similar to our current ally.

>>27264072
There's also the time with Bardiel, when we survived only because based Dice Gods love RJ.
Also, the time when we nearly got curb-stomped bu Rust Kaiser. The fight with Kraken was also a close call.

>>27264107

Then.... we make the Dominion next time we're at the hollow sun

...

OH SNAP.

Is THAT what our current enemy is in? Not a tank-shaped suit of armor, but -another- manufactured-type vehicle like THE DOMINION?

shit.
That may be a good reason for another sysadmin to snag backup. This is really 2v2 fight.
The tank, and the player inside it.